By Teresa Wippel
January 7, 2026
Link to My Edmonds News article
Key takeaways:
- Michelle Dotsch elected council president, Jenna Nand selected president pro tem.
- Numerous residents testify in support of a measure they say would better protect the Deer Creek critical aquifer recharge area (CARA) — and council approves it 4-3.
- Councilmembers sworn in and last year’s council president gets a sendoff.
- Council votes to increase the city’s transportation impact fees.
In an action-packed first meeting of the new year, the Edmonds City Council adopted a critical areas ordinance that proponents say better protects local drinking water, and also elected Michelle Dotsch as council president and Jenna Nand as council president pro tem.
In addition, the Council approved an increase in the City’s transportation impact fees and held a public hearing on a proposal to implement a 0.1% Transportation Benefit District sales tax — although delayed action until next week. The council also conducted a ceremonial swearing in for the three councilmembers elected in November: Incumbents Will Chen and Chris Eck, and new Councilmember Erika Barnett. (All three had taken their official oaths of office during ceremonies in December.)
Finally, councilmembers honored Neil Tibbott with a proclamation for his years of council service. Tibbott did not run for reelection, and Barnett was elected to replace him.
Of all the issues considered Tuesday night, the critical areas ordinance took center stage. Councilmembers admitted they had been giving the issue serious thought and acknowledged the strong emotions it has generated. They also said they respected the individual decisions of other councilmembers on the issue, even if they had opposing views.
The proposed critical areas ordinance (CAO) update has been in process for more than a year, with the goal of streamlining development-related activity near critical areas. At a Nov. 25 public hearing, the update was praised by stakeholders and the Council for both content and process. However, the City inserted a change between the public hearing on Nov. 25 and the final document presented Dec. 16 involving the Deer Creek Critical Aquifer Recharge Area (CARA), which protects groundwater against contaminants like Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAs). The original document said developers must clean stormwater runoff first. The new document allowed developers to route stormwater into the recharge area.
City Attorney Jeff Taraday maintained that retaining the CARA update as proposed would leave the City open to developer litigation. After much discussion, the Council on Dec. 16 asked City staff to return Jan. 6 with options and risks attached to each approach to address both stakeholder and legal concerns.
The Council packet presented Tuesday included five options but the Council discussion focused on three of them. The first was the staff recommendation, option 3. It called for adopting the critical areas ordinance itself and deferring consideration of the Critical Aquifer Recharge Area issue until a scientific study was completed on PFAs. Option 3, staff argued, would bring the City into compliance with state requirements while allowing CARA regulations to be informed by the study. It would also preserve existing development rights under current CARA regulations, staff said.
Some councilmembers stated their preference for option 2, the alternative favored by the Edmonds Environmental Council, which rallied a host of residents to offer public testimony Tuesday on the matter. Option 2 called for adopting the critical areas ordinance with the CARA measure as presented during the Nov. 25 council meeting. While that measure would bring the City into compliance with state critical areas ordinance update requirements, staff expressed concerns about the conflict between Option 2 and the City’s stormwater permit and stormwater codes. Option 2, staff said, would make “it extremely difficult for City staff to process applications until the two sets of regulations can be made consistent with one another.” It also would run the risk of legal challenges from property owners, staff said.
City Attorney Jeff Taraday recommended that if the council was considering passage of option 2, they should also consider a moratorium on development within the Deer Creek CARA to avoid potential code conflicts.
That conversation led Planning Manager Brad Shipley to suggest that the council consider option 4, also in their packet. That option would defer consideration of the CARA while a study was done, and would also include a development moratorium. It would give staff a chance to ensure the city’s stormwater regulations are aligned, Shipley said.
Councilmember Vivian Olson, who had been supporting Option 2, said she wasn’t sure that instituting a moratorium to await the results of a PFAS study had value. “I don’t have very high expectations that the PFAs study that we’re doing is really going to give us very clear path forward on this,” Olson said.
“I think that we all have the same goal,” a frustrated Shipley replied. “No one wants to put PFAs in our drinking water. What staff is up here saying is that we need to align everything and just go through the proper process and take our time.”
In the end, the council approved option 2 by a vote of 4-3, with Councilmembers Olson, Chen, Barnett and Dotsch supporting.
Regarding the topic of transportation impact fees, councilmembers agreed to approve the staff-recommended increase, but decided to delay implementation of it until July 1. The fees are collected from developers to help pay for transportation infrastructure improvements, and are calculated from the 20-year transportation improvement projects in City’s Comprehensive Plan. The idea, staff and consultants said, is to measure development’s share of project costs, including the per-trip cost. It also reflects the updated state law that now allows the fee to reflect pedestrian and bicycle projects.
One of the considerations for delaying the fee until July 1 was public testimony Tuesday from an Edmonds Boys and Girls Club representative. She noted that under the City’s proposal, the nonprofit organization would face an approximate 250% increase in this fee as part of the club’s construction of a new building on the current Civic Field site. During a discussion with councilmembers later in the evening, staff shared it is likely that a permit for the Boys and Girls Club building won’t be issued for an estimated six months. That prompted Councilmember Eck to propose delaying implementation of the measure until July 1.
Edmonds’ current transportation impact fee rate of $5,400 per vehicle trip would increase to $9,262 per vehicle trip under the proposal. Councilmember Dotsch proposed that instead of implementing the increase all at once, that the Council phase it in — one-third at a time, over three years — an idea supported by Councilmember Olson. But that measure was rejected after some councilmembers argued it was important for the City — given its financial challenges — to obtain the revenue sooner. The council ended up approving the July 1 start of the entire fee increase, with Dotsch and Olson voting no.
As for the council leadership elections, the race for president was between Dotsch — nominated by Councilmember Chen — and Nand, who was nominated by Councilmember Susan Paine. Dotsch was the first nominee to receive four votes, receiving support from herself, Olson, Chen and Barnett. Three councilmembers were nominated for president pro tem — Nand, Eck and Chen — and Nand was the first to receive a majority of votes for the job.
During Tibbott’s recognition, he received thanks from last year’s Council President Pro Tem Susan Paine and Mayor Mike Rosen. He was cited for his “collegial leadership style” and his “ethic of continuous learning and curiosity.”
In his remarks, Tibbott encouraged the council “to focus on the big vision, truly and sincerely. Lead the young and the old, the people who’ve been here recently, people who’ve been here for decades, lead so that this city will care for the most vulnerable, protect the environment, deliver services that are essential to our city and provide for future generations. The bottom line is this: Please make Edmonds a place where all people flourish,” he said.